Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Japan’s Democratic Party has drawn up an LGBT nondiscrimination bill it plans to put forward in January.

The bill calls on the government to encourage companies to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against LGBT people and disclose the names of companies that fail to follow its instructions.

When considering promotion, companies must not give discriminatory treatment to employees based on their sexual orientation.

In addition, the central government will be obliged to draw up basic guidelines for eliminating such discrimination, and local governments will be obliged to compile basic programs to implement concrete measures.

Also called for is the promotion of school education and consultations on sexual minorities and related issues.

Monday, December 28, 2015

This movie centers around a closeted average guy whose best buds first bridle, then rally around him when he decides to come out on his 24th birthday.

This touchingly heartfelt comedy doesn’t have marquee names or an attention-grabbing hook, but hopefully its sheer likability will grab some deserved niche theatrical and home-format attention.

Evan Todd (“Switched at Birth”) stars as Adam, a small-town, blue-collar mechanic who likes beer and hockey but surprises his buddies when he tells them he’s gay.

Well meaning but perhaps fated to trip over themselves, hilarity ensues when said buddies all try to help Adam find a boyfriend. Parker Young (“Arrow”), Chord Overstreet (“Glee”), Jon Gabrus (“Younger”) and Kate Flannery (“The Office) co-star in the film from producers Lauren Avinoam, Lauren Hogarth and Jed Mellick.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

The city of Iga in Mie Prefecture has announced plans to start issuing certificates recognising same-sex partnerships as being equivalent to marriage. The city will become the fourth district in Japan to strengthen its LGBT rights.

The certificates will be issued from next April onwards, in a bid to address discrimination against the LGBT community, Iga Mayor Sakae Okamoto said in a statement.

The city will follow Shibuya and Setagaya wards in Tokyo, which became Japan’s first and second local governments to introduce the system last month.

The city of Takarazuka, meanwhile, has said it will start issuing papers authenticating partnership oaths by same-sex couples by summer 2016.

Remember that a majority of Japanese support changing the country’s laws to allow same-sex unions, with the highest backing coming from younger respondents, according to a poll.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Actor Matt Dallas and husband Blue Hamilton have adopted a two-year-old son named Crow whom they introduced to the world in a YouTube video.

The couple, who married in July of this year, were eager to start a family. Blue said: "We’ve been talking about having kids for a long time. We both come from big families. Family’s important to both of us. Raising a family is very important to both of us".

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

The Greek Parliament approved a bill granting same-sex couples the right to a civil union, becoming one of the last European countries to give them legal recognition after years of opposition from the influential Orthodox church.

The new Greek law resolves property and inheritance issues, but makes no provision for the adoption of children.

"This is an important day for human rights", Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the chamber. Tsipras said the bill gives same-sex couples "equal rights in life and death", terminating a practice of "backwardness and shame" for Greece.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Singer/songwriter Steve Grand delivered a Christmas gift with his new song and cute video, a cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, accompanied by a cozy and sexy co-starring Trevor LaPaglia.

His debut album "All American Boy" bowed at No. 3 on the Independent Albums chart earlier in 2015. Other Grand's success songs were "Stay" and "Time".

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Slovenians have voted today against same-sex marriage in a referendum.

The Slovenian’s Parliament passed a bill to legalise same-sex marriage earlier this year, to outcry from parts of the Slovenian public. Despite this, a referendum was forced after campaigners against the law gathered 80,00 signatures.

Voters in Slovenia headed to the polls today in a bid to reinforce a ban on same-sex marriage. With nearly all of the 620,261 votes now counted, the country has recorded 225,428 Yes votes (36.5%) in favour of equal marriage, and 391,818 No votes (63.5%) opposed.

Friday, December 18, 2015

By a vote of 71-24, India’s Parliament today rejected a bill to decriminalize homosexual acts.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s bill to decriminalise gay sex was rejected, with the former minister saying it was “surprising to see such intolerance”. Tharoor had proposed to amend Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexual acts between consenting adults.

The Supreme Court had ruled in 2013 that only Parliament can change Section 377, which prohibits “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, and is widely interpreted to refer to homosexual intercourse.

Massive protests pro LGBT rights took place in India to ask a change of legislation but sadly they have been in vain.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Afrikaans singer Brendan Peyper is the winner of this year’s Sexiest Man Survey‚ receiving the lion’s share of the almost 6‚000 votes cast on South Africa’s leading gay news website Mambaonline.com.

He beat out 12 other gay-friendly home-grown male celebrity finalists‚ including actors‚ singers‚ dancers and TV celebs‚ who have been competing for the fun title since the start of October.

“I’ve never been nominated for something like this before‚” told Peyper to Mambaonline in an exclusive interview. “It’s a whole new thing for me. I feel very good and appreciate everyone who voted”, he added.

He went on to talk about having to choose between rugby and music‚ homophobia on the sports field and how he was bullied in primary school for not being the typical jock.

“The guys in the rugby team never gave me a chance and never wanted me in the team. They thought I was gay. I was bullied a lot about my music. But I believe that the best revenge is success”, Peyper said.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Same-sex couples who have married overseas will now have those marriages given legal recognition when they return home to the Australian state of Victoria after lawmakers passed the Relationships Amendment Bill.

Same-sex marriage is still not legal in Australia despite overwhelming support from the Australian people so many Australian states have created relationship registers so that same-sex couples can formalize their relationships for legal purposes.

The Relationships Amendment Bill will see overseas civil unions and same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions automatically given the same legal weight as registered relationships.

Victoria joins the states of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania in recognizing overseas same-sex marriages, meaning a majority of the Australian states now legally recognize the existence of same-sex marriages in some way.